“It’s awesome,” Brown said. “We’ve just got to find a way to maintain it. I love what I’ve seen from our guys. Our guys are developing and getting better, and that’s what we’ve got to be. We’ve got to be the harder-playing team, we’ve got to be physical, all of that stuff.
“If we get that more times than not, we’ll be just fine.”
Here’s the preview:
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
TV, radio: NBCSB, WROR-FM 105.7
Line: Minnesota -6.5. O/U: 227.5.
CELTICS
Season record: 10-8. vs. spread: 8-10. Over/under: 7-11
Get Starting Point
Last 10 games: 7-3. vs. spread: 6-4. Over/under: 4-6
TIMBERWOLVES
Season record: 10-8. vs. spread: 7-11. Over/under: 8-10
Last 10 games: 6-4. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 2-8
TEAM STATISTICS
Points per game: Boston 114.8, Minnesota 118.8
Points allowed per game: Boston 110.2, Minnesota 114.2
Field goal percentage: Boston .459, Minnesota .482
Opponent field goal percentage: Boston .439, Minnesota .456
3-point percentage: Boston .357, Minnesota .378
Opponent 3-point percentage: Boston .358, Minnesota .359
Stat of the day: Derrick White is coming off a 27 point game against the Pistons. He finished 7-of-13 shooting and added seven rebounds.
Notes: It marks the start of a two-game road trip for the Celtics, who also will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers before returning home. … Meanwhile, the Timberwolves return home after an 0-3 road trip that included visits to Phoenix, Sacramento and Oklahoma City. Before the road trip, Minnesota had won six of its previous seven games. … One area the Timberwolves will try to improve on Saturday is at the free-throw line. The Timberwolves made only 22 of 37 free-throw attempts (59.5%) in their last game. … Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves with 28.0 points per game on 47.5% shooting. Randle (23.4 points per game) and Jaden McDaniels (16.1) round out the top three scorers. … Brown leads the Celtics with 28.2 points per game on 49.5% shooting. Payton Pritchard has averaged 16.6 points per game, and Derrick White is third on the team with 16.0 points per game. … Timberwolves second-year guard Terrence Shannon Jr. will appear in his third game since returning from a foot injury. Shannon made all seven of his shots and finished with a season-high 18 points against Oklahoma City.
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.
